Loss of a microRNA molecule boosts rice production

The wild rice consumed by our Neolithic ancestors was very different from the domesticated rice eaten today. Although it is unclear when humans first started farming rice, the oldest paddy fields—in the lower Yangzi River ...

Pioneering biologists create a new crop through genome editing

Crops such as wheat and maize have undergone a breeding process lasting thousands of years, in the course of which mankind has gradually modified the properties of wild plants into highly cultivated variants. One motive was ...

Genome duplication drives evolution of species

Many wild and cultivated plants arise through the combination of two species. The genome of these so-called polyploid species often consists of a quadruple set of chromosomes—a double set for each parental species—and ...

Wheat genome blueprint accelerates innovation

"The wheat blueprint will enable us to decipher the genetic basis of important traits in wheat, such as genes responsible for resistance to fungal diseases and pests. That is the disruptive part. What took years to do before ...

Scientists decode opium poppy genome

Scientists have determined the DNA code of the opium poppy genome, uncovering key steps in how the plant evolved to produce the pharmaceutical compounds used to make vital medicines.

VOX pops cereal challenge

A popular technique for studying genes from different organisms plus a new carrier to transfer them to plants has yielded a powerful tool for understanding crops better.

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